


Ocean Eyes

by whoopswheresmyusername



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Co-workers to lovers, Core Four, Disaster Gays, M/M, Marine Biologists, Rock Band, Selkie AU, band mates to lovers, ill add more tags as i keep writing, logan accidentally proposed to patton without realizing, they are of age and they sometimes drink responsibly but not this time, they get slightly drunk but they are responsible adults
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2020-10-21 12:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoopswheresmyusername/pseuds/whoopswheresmyusername
Summary: Logan doesn't believe in love at first sight.Then Patton walks into his life.Logan doesn't believe in selkies and sirens.Patton is about to change that too.An accidental proposal leads to a matchmaker heist with an old friend and his pining bandmate.Too bad they don't know that the one they're trying to make fall in love is already absolutely smitten.title from ocean eyes by Billie Eilish!askblog on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/oceaneyesselkieau





	1. Can't stop staring at those Ocean Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter one begins.
> 
> chapter title from Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish

Logan was a man of science. Of calculation. Of exact numbers and formulas and very certain, quantifiable things.  
He was not one of romance.  
At least, that’s what he thought until he met Patton.  
The day Patton Hughes waltzed into his life was the day he realized what love feels like. Although he didn’t actually understand it to be love until much later.  
When he walked in, Logan immediately knew something was weird about him. Good weird, he supposed.  
“I understand you’re the new one?”  
Patton nodded and smiled. “Absolutely! Pleasure to meet you, Mr Henderson!” He had a soft Irish accent and a huge, toothy smile that lit up his whole face. He was also wearing a spotted fur coat, which Logan found strange.  
“Yes, the pleasure is mine. Please leave your coat outside the lab. I’m sorry, it’s protocol.”  
Patton’s face falls for a moment, but then he rights himself and smiles. “Yes, yes of course. Just a moment!”  
He comes back a moment later, as promised, without his jacket and a white lab coat in its place.  
“Ready to work, sir!” He salutes mockingly. Logan wants to smile, but that’s unprofessional, so Logan did what he normally did.  
He gave Patton a lab tour instead of acknowledging his feelings. The tour took up most of the day, especially when Patton decided to take a liking to the mammals in the aquarium section.  
“Patton, we need to finish the tour,” Logan sighs after forty five minutes.  
“And what better things do you have to do, Mr Smarty Pants?” Patton smirks at Logan. Logan feels heat rise in his cheeks as Patton winks at him.  
“N- nothing.”  
“That,” He boops Logan’s nose gently. “Is what I thought.”  
Logan’s voice shuts down at that exact moment. 

Once Logan finally drags Patton away from the animals, he concludes the tour by showing him the view of the sea.  
“Living in Monterey does have its perks,” He mumbles, gazing at the gray sky and choppy sea.  
“I bet,” Patton whispers, his hand touching the thin glass separating him from the waves. He looked at the water longingly, Logan noted. Then, he smelled the sea.  
He always smelled the sea. He lived on the ocean, for god’s sake. But this? This was distinct. It was a clear sea on a starry night. It was the smell of a warm summer night. It took him less than five seconds to understand where the smell was from.  
Patton.  
He smelled amazing.  
He looked amazing.  
He was amazing.  
“What made you become a marine biologist?” Logan asks, starting to walk down the hall, expecting the other to follow.  
Patton laughs a bit. “You could say the water is my home.”  
Logan smiles a bit. “Good. You’ll be spending a lot of time there,” He continues walking.  
“I already do, sir.” Patton jogs to catch up to Logan.  
“You can call me Logan, Patton.”  
Patton nods in understanding. “Okay, Logan!” He grins, a smile that makes his eyes close and his glasses slide down his nose. His big, round, gold-rimmed glasses. Sliding down his beautifully freckled button nose.  
Snap out of it, he scolded himself. You’re at work. Act like it.  
Should he, though?  
Did he want to? Not particularly.

-~-

Logan found himself getting lost in Patton.  
The little details, even. Not just broadly speaking, like his perfectly styled golden red curls, because those were still important, but he got especially lost in the way that he wrote. In the way he spoke while reading a lab report. The way that he put on his trademark spotted fur coat at the end of the day. The same locker, the same way.  
Every time.  
He memorized Patton’s schedule so he could pass him in the hall before and after his lunch break. Before and after his time with the animals.  
Some could call it stalking, he preferred to call it “attentively watching an important asset”.  
“You’re obsessed,” A coworker said at break one day.  
“No, I’m just fond of his company!” He defended, angrily sipping his coffee.  
After that, there were some rumors of Logan Henderson, the esteemed head scientist, having a crush on the marine mammal specialist. Logan tried to debunk these theories before Patton caught wind of them.  
Operative word here being tried.  
“Hey, Lo!” Patton approached him one day, fiddling with the seams of his lab coat.  
“Greetings, Patton.”  
“I wanted to talk to you about something-”  
Logan’s heart raced. “Listen, before you say anything, I do not have a crush on you. They’re just stupid rumors and none of it is true. I swear, we’re just close friends.” Logan blurts, feeling his cheeks get redder with every word he spat out.  
Patton stared at him for a moment, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  
“I was going to talk to you about when I should have those lab reports in by,” He whispers, his face growing red as well.  
Logan’s heart sank to his feet. “Oh, I- I’m-” He clears his throat awkwardly, shifting on his feet. “My apologies. The reports are due next week Thursday.” He glances away from Patton, mentally screaming at himself for being too hasty.  
That’s what you get for letting your emotions get the best of you, he scolds.  
“I- uh, I should get going,” Patton gestures awkwardly.  
“Yep! Yeah, go ahead.” Logan moves aside to let him pass, accidentally stepping in the way of Patton instead.  
“Uh huh, I was gonna-” Patton moves to the other side, stepping forward to leave.  
“Okay, I-” They sway from side to side, attempting to move out of the way of the other but instead getting in their way.  
“Sorry, you first.” They say in unison.  
Both faces go red.  
Patton steps forward at the same time as Logan. Their chests bump. Logan looks down at the Irishman, Patton looks up at the tall Japanese- American. They both blush. Patton scans Logan’s face, his gaze lingering on his lips.  
They both lean in gently.  
The wooden floor creaks with the sound of a person passing.  
They jump away from each other, awkwardly looking the other direction as the scientist passes.  
Their faces are scarlet.  
“See you tomorrow,” Patton says, not looking at Logan.  
Logan nods, no words coming out of his mouth.  
Patton stares at the wall for a bit, then walks off.  
Logan stands in shock.  
“That happened,” He mutters to himself before straightening his lab coat and glasses and strutting off like nothing happened.


	2. I could be your crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> logan is gay  
patton is forgetful  
virgil is sad  
followed by logan being even more gay

Logan let the whole rumors thing drop, and after a while, so did his co-workers. He assumed that this would get Patton out of his head as well, but this only caused Patton to become an even more dominant thought.  
So when Patton leaves the lab three hours before his shift ends, without his trademarked fur coat, Logan begins to worry.  
He grabs the coat from its place on the floor, so it wouldn’t get stepped on. The second he touched the soft combination of fabric and fur, he felt at peace. He felt as if he was floating on the ocean.  
It felt like he was touching Patton.   
When that thought crossed his mind, he yelped and dropped the coat.  
He looked around guiltily before picking it up by the collar with two fingers. He locates the nearest bathroom, sprints in, locks the door, and slams his back into said locked door.  
He clutches the coat in his fist near his heart.  
“This is Patton’s,” He mutters, pacing the length of the bathroom, his fancy dress shoes clicking against the pristine white tiles. “Right?”  
He holds it up to his face and inhales deeply. The smell of the ocean comes crashing over him. He nearly falls backward.  
“Yep, definitely Patton’s,” His cheeks flush as his brain fills with the short redhead.  
He ponders what to do next. He knows giving the coat back would be the decent thing to do, but everything about the coat made him so ridiculously happy that he didn’t want to give it back. Not right away, at least. He slides down until he’s sitting on the ground with his knees to his chest, cradling the coat in his lap. He absentmindedly rubs his thumb in circles over the fur, pondering what he should do.  
His first instinct? Put on the coat.  
So he does. He expects it to be five sizes too small, but as soon as he slips it on, it almost magically changes to fit him perfectly. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he also realizes that it changed styles as well.   
He begins to wonder why that is when he finally smells the sea. The same smell as Patton. Salty and floral and free.  
He then feels a deep yearning in his heart. To go to Patton. To take him and go to the sea and never return. His feet move before his brain thinks, and he’s strutting through the building and out the front door.  
He doesn’t realize what he’s doing until he’s in his car, about to pull out.  
“WHAT THE HELL?” He yells shrilly, quickly taking off the jacket and yanking the keys out of the ignition.  
He tries to regain a steady breathing rate. It’s nearly impossible, with how much his heart is yearning at the moment. There is something wrong with that coat. Something he needs to test more. He sighs, replaces the keys in the ignition, and drives back to his apartment, the salty smell of that jacket filling his car.

-~-

Patton forgot his pelt. He felt it as he was driving away from the lab. A deep longing in his heart. He felt antsy and uncomfortable, but he buried those feelings deep down. He has to help Virgil first.  
When his phone buzzed in his pocket about five minutes earlier, he knew it was Virgil. HE knew it was bad.   
“Laws of the road, prepare to be ignored!” He muttered under his breath as he shifted up four gears and sped down the road.  
The car was barely off when he hopped out of the car that he parked in front of the small two-story house.  
He fumbled with the keys for a moment before barging in.   
He nearly fell on his face three times running up the stairs.  
He skids to a stop in front of Virgil’s room, catching his breath.   
“Virgil?” He calls gently. His phone buzzes in response. Gently opening the door and walking in, he scans the room for his shorter friend.  
He finds the boy in a corner. He knows better than to touch him, so he stands about five feet away.  
“Water?” Patton asks quietly.  
Virgil moves his hand, signaling a yes.  
Patton moves quietly to the bathroom and gets a big cup, filling it with water.  
When he brings it back to Virgil, the boy snatches the cup and drains it in a few seconds.  
“Another?”  
Virgil nods weakly.  
Patton comes back with an even bigger cup. Virgil downs it.  
This goes on for a while, until Virgil finally seems satisfied.  
“Jeez, kiddo! You love water almost as much as I do!” Patton giggles, sitting near him.  
A silence settles between the two.  
“What was it this time?”  
“Overload.” Virgil croaks, his high voice shaky like his hands.  
Patton nods. “Can I do anything?”  
Virgil nods. “Stay.”  
They sit in comfortable silence as Virgil recovers slowly but surely.  
“Patton, can I hold your pelt? Just for a little? It’s really soft and-”  
Patton tunes virgil out. His pelt. He forgot his pelt. How could he forget he forgot his pelt? He’s such an idiot. His brain shuts down for a full five seconds, trying to comprehend how he forgot his pelt and then forgot that he forgot it.  
“I… forgot it at the office,” He says after a while, staring into space.  
“Wait, seriously?”  
Patton nods slowly.  
“Oh, Patton that’s really bad. You need to get it! You’re gonna get sick and then you’ll-”  
“I have it under control,” Patton snaps back to attention. “I’ll get it tomorrow. It’s going to be fine.”  
Patton was most definitely not fine. At all. But that could wait. It could always wait.  
He sighed.  
Today was a long day.

-~-

Logan sat on his bed, staring at the gray spotted fur coat before him.   
It didn’t move.  
Or talk.  
Or do much of anything, really.  
He reached out a hand, but the second he felt his fingers brush the fur, his entire body flooded with the feeling of yearning. Get Patton. Go to the sea. NOW.  
It was an interesting feeling, and he was terrified of it.   
Well, only partly terrified.  
He wanted to explore the “go to the sea” bit, as that didn’t make any sense.  
What scared him was the bit that included Patton.  
Patton.  
He barely knew Patton, yet his name gave him butterflies in his stomach and a strong blush in his cheeks.   
He stopped to think about the short Irishman. He had no idea when he memorized the little details of his face, or when he knew exactly where he would be at any given point in the day. He just did at this point. Logan didn’t know what to feel about the situation.  
Instead of thinking about it, he curled up on his bed.  
He fell asleep that night with the soft fur of the coat tucked beneath his chin and held close to his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahhhha its been a while  
hope you enjoyed!


	3. I like you, say it back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton finds his pelt and also that his status as a bachelor has been revoked.  
Logan and patton get a drink. or, like, twelve.  
virgil might like his new bandmate. He doesn't know yet, just go away!
> 
> chapter title from sweet tooth by cavetown

Patton looked everywhere. Literally everywhere. He could feel his pelt in the building. It had to be somewhere. It’s not in his locker, by his desk, or even floating in an animal tank somewhere.   
When he did see it, his heart plummeted to his feet.   
Logan was wearing it.   
It looked vastly different. While when he wore it, it looked like a thick coat with a fluffy collar, on logan, it was streamlined. It was crisp and clean and dear god, patton wanted to just swim off with him and make him his-  
He was getting ahead of himself.  
He composed himself and walked over to the head scientist.   
“You have my jacket!” He announces, causing logan to jump a little.  
Logan spins and sees patton. His face turns scarlet.  
“May I have it back?” He asks politely.  
Logan nods ecstatically, quickly taking off the jacket- PELT- and handing it back.   
Patton takes it before even realizing the transaction that has just happened.   
He realizes the mistake he’s made when logan smiles and looks from the pelt to patton. “It smells just like you,” he mutters, adjusting his glasses.   
It’s patton’s turn to get red. “That’s a good thing?”  
Logan chuckles. “I suppose so. Seeya later!”  
Patton is practically struck down. “Seeya”? Logan, the uptight, awkward nerd, who doesn’t know slang, saying “seeya”? That is weird.   
Then patton’s heart sinks.  
He handed me my pelt back.  
His eyes widen and he sprints into the nearest maintenance closet and locks the door. He dials the number of his roommate.   
The phone rings once, twice, three times-  
“Hello?”  
“VIRGIL! Thank all the spirits-”  
“What is this about? I’m at rehearsal.”  
“Listen, i found my pelt-”  
“Okay? Good job? Can i go now?”  
“LOGAN HAD IT. AND, HERE’S THE WORST PART, HE WAS WEARING IT AND HE HANDED IT BACK TO ME.” Patton shouts into the receiver.  
Silence on the other end.  
“Virgil?” Patton whispers.  
A beat.  
“Guess we missed the opportunity for a bachelor party, huh?” Virgil sighs.  
-~-  
“And the best part is, he doesn’t believe any sort of legend or myth about selkies or anything! He’s a marine biologist! Monterey has selkies, fool!” Patton covers his face in a pillow and screams.   
“Worrying about this isnt doing anything, Saint Patty. We need to get him to believe, and stat. Does he like you? That’s a start. The pelt thing is legally binding, so-”  
“How would I know if he likes me? Even if he said it to my face and KISSED ME, I still wouldn’t know!”  
“Set up a date, maybe?”  
“You’re kidding!” Patton rolls to be face down in the covers. “I’m too awkward!”  
Virgil sighs. “I know someone, he’s kind of a love expert.”  
“Now is not the time for a Frozen reference, Virge.”  
“Not what I- you know what, nevermind. Okay, he’s trying to be the lead singer of the band because the last guy left, and this guy, he’s a total diva! He brags about the hearts he’s broken all with a swagger in his step and a glint in his eye! He’s always got bright red eyeshadow and lipstick-”  
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you like him,” Patton teases.  
“Shhhhhhhut it.” Virgil hisses. “Listen, you need help, this guy can give it to you. What do you say?” He extends a hand.  
Patton sighs and takes it. “Fine. A few dates, I show him I’m a selkie. Then i tell him that we are technically legally married. This is fine.”

-~- 

“THIS IS NOT FINE!” Patton thunks his head on the brick wall.  
“Sweetheart, you need to talk to him to ask him out.” The red-clad latino purrs from his left.  
“Roman, he needs his time.” Virgil elbows the man.   
He throws his hands up defensively and walks to the other side of virgil and begins to flirt with him.  
“C’mon, patton. Just- just walk up, and ask him out for a beer. You’re irish! You know beer!” He smiles, but then turns back to the wall. “Ughhh, who am I kidding, he’s a wine person. Look at how refined he is! You can’t offer someone as refined as that a BEER! Even if it’s Guinness!”  
Logan looks around. Patton doesn’t see him walking over.   
“Just, ask him out! It’s not that hard!” He thuds his head against the wall a little too hard. “Ow!” he yelps.  
“Are you okay?” Logan asks.  
Patton jumps. “Uhhhh, yeah! Yeah, I’m perfectly fine! Totally… cool! All very cool over here in coolsville, population me! Because… everything is fine!” He blabbers on.  
Logan fights the urge to smile. “Uh, I was wondering, if you’re free tonight- maybe… we could grab a drink together?” He says, surprisingly composed. His casual outfit isn’t much different from his work one, the only difference is his dark blue shirt isn’t covered in a jacket and his neck isn’t collared with a tie. And the top two buttons are undone.  
Patton goes bright red. “Oh! Uh-”  
Logan starts to stammer. “Uh, uh of course, if you’re busy that’s totally fine I was just wondering if you were free so we could, I don’t know, get a wine or a beer or a scotch or a martini together? Depending on what you like, I’m not making assumptions that you like beer just because you’re irish! If you think I did I’m so so sorry-”  
“Logan!” Patton puts a finger to his mouth, which shuts him up. “I would love to get a drink with you.”  
Logan smiles a big, dorky grin that patton can’t help but reciprocate.   
He nearly walks off before patton remembers something. “Oh! I don’t think I have your number!”  
Logan chuckles and they swap phones and numbers. Patton takes extra time putting in a blue heart emoji and a seal next to his name in the contact. Logan takes extra care to fill out every possible field in the contact. He also puts a little tie emoji next to his name. But he wouldn’t tell anyone that. Emojis aren’t professional.   
He just loves that little tie very much.

-~-

Later that night, they get a drink. Patton orders a beer, and logan orders a brandy.   
“Didn’t take you for the brandy type!” Patton chuckles as their drinks come out.   
“I don’t normally drink. It always ends up badly. Last time I did, I went on a rant about my childhood and how I thought I saw a mermaid. Isn’t that crazy? A mermaid!” He laughs once and gingerly sips his drink.  
“Hah, yeah.” Patton laughs awkwardly and swirls the beer at the bottom of the glass, watching the foam climb the sides of the glass.  
Logan sighs. “Bartender?”  
The bald man slides over.   
“Top me off. All the way to the top. I’m not going home sober tonight.” He says with finality.  
“Logan-” Patton has to stop himself from laughing.  
“Work Logan and fun Logan are very different people! Just you wait!” He says as the bartender glugs out the amber liquid. Logan’s ginger sips are replaced by hazardous gulps. Followed by an extremely sour face. “WHOOOOO!” He shouts, shivering. “That is more than enough to get me buzzed. And i am not even done with the glass!” He lifts up the cup, which is still two-thirds full.   
“Logan-”  
“Top this handsome man off, too. Maybe something stronger? He looks like he can handle a drink or, like, twelve.”  
The barkeep nods. He comes back with a whole row of shots.  
“What’s in the glasses?” Patton yells over the sounds of the slowly drunker people filing in with the night.   
The barkeep shrugs and winks.   
“CHEERS!” Logan picks up a glass in each hand and downs them. He shakes his hands out and musses up his hair. The normally slicked back hair falls in his face, framing his clearly drunk face perfectly. “See? Fun logan!”   
Patton rolls his eyes and slaps his hand on the bar. He sighs before taking the rest of the line of shots and downing them steadily, as logan grows more and more amazed.   
“Hhhhholy- the irish, they can rrrrrreaaaaally handle their BOOZE, HUH!” Logan cackles.   
Patton smirks and chugs another glass of beer. He feels his senses dull enough to let loose a little. He grabs logan’s hand and drags him onto the little dance floor a few tables away.  
“I don’t dance, Pat!” Logan slurs, leaning heavily on patton.   
“Even fun logan doesn’t dance?” Patton teases. This gets through to his inebriated brain.  
“Fun logan dances! I dance!”  
Patton laughs as he takes logan’s hands and they start to bounce and sway to the hazy music in the background.  
Logan slumps forward onto the pelt that looks like a coat. “Mmmm, this was a really cozy blanket, patty. Thank you for forgetting it that one day, because it smelled so nice and it reminded me of the sea.” He mutters through a big grin.  
Patton’s heart skips a beat. “Oh! You… took it home with you the day I forgot it?”  
“MMM! Mmmhhhmmmm! I was gonna keep it nice and safe but like, it smelled just like you and i put it on and like my brain went AAAAh! So i still took it home but i used it as a blaaaaankeeeeettt.”  
Patton smiles. “I know what we can do!”

-~-

After they’ve paid, they teeter arm in arm to the beach. The ocean wind sobers logan slightly and patton completely.   
“You know, the sea is basically my second home,” Logan says, laying down on the cool sand.  
Patton lies down next to him. “Really? Me too!”   
THe stars reflect on logan’s glasses as he stares up at the sky. “I used to live in this house by the ocean. I swam almost every day, and collected shells and looked at the fish and plants. I had basically the whole area around my house mapped and accounted for, until-” He stops and rolls towards patton. “You can’t laugh, or call me crazy, because it actually happened. It all happened, and I couldn’t forget about it no matter how hard I try. What you’re about to hear changed my whole life, okay?”  
Patton nods calmly and slowly reaches for logan’s hand.  
Logan sighs and continues. “One day I was swimming around, yknow? When this girl swam by me, but the only thing is, she didn’t have legs. She had a giant tail! I swam after her, and she disappeared, so I started to swim back to shore when she swam in front of me! Like, she kinda checked me out all curious-like, and I mean, I did too! She helped me swim back to shore, and then she just- swam off. I never saw her again.”  
Patton looks deeply into Logan’s eyes. “I believe you. I believe every word you have told me.”   
They smile at each other. Patton’s heart soars, and he suddenly feels very gutsy. He slips out of his pelt and throws it over the two of them. He can feel the soberness returning to Logan.   
“Uh- whoa.” Logan says, rubbing his eyes. “I was just-”  
“Raving drunk? Yeah, I know.”  
Logan’s face pales. “I told you about the mermaid thing, didn’t I? Oh god, I’m so sorry, you must have lost all your respect for me-”  
Patton silences him by putting a finger to his mouth. “I believe you. Every word.” He whispers, scooting towards logan.   
Logan’s face returns to its normal color, then doubles in pink. Patton slips his hand into Logan’s.  
“You’re not crazy.”   
Their lips are literally centimeters away from each other. Patton closes the gap gently, for a moment. His chest fills with fireworks. He expects logan to pull away, but the other man only draws himself nearer to patton. The kiss lasts for a long time. They pull away for air.   
“I don’t have roommates,” Logan confesses.  
“It’s decided then, because I do.” Patton says.   
They laugh, and patton helps logan up.   
They half walk, half run to Logan’s apartment.   
Neither of them notice that the pelt has both a crisp, clean look and a fluffy collar. They just notice that they’re together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> typos? comments? concerns???? predictions????????   
yall it's been ages since i updated i am so sorry but here's some good stuff for ya

**Author's Note:**

> It's so awkward  
yell at me if you see any typos because i swear i need help typing  
more chapters to come!!!!!!  
don't worry itll get good i swear


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